Traditionally, a vendor of a wide variety of consumer goods must employ at least two different motor vehicles for transporting the wide variety of consumer goods. For example, to transport movable goods which need protection from environmental elements, such as weather and dirt, a truck with a fully enclosed cargo area to protect the consumer goods must be used. Such consumer goods which need protection from environmental elements can include, but are not limited to, appliances like washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc. To load and unload these type of consumer goods, the truck with the fully enclosed cargo area typically has a rear mounted liftgate which can raise and lower the goods relative to the cargo area.
Meanwhile, goods which usually do not need protection from environmental elements can include, but are not limited to, cement, bricks, and lumber. To transport these type of goods which do not need protection from environmental elements, a vendor typically uses a flat bed truck that does not have any enclosed areas in the cargo area. Without enclosed areas of the cargo area, easy loading and unloading can be achieved with the assistance of cargo moving machines, such as a forklift.
With this wide variety of consumer goods, a vendor must use and employ these two different type of trucks as discussed above. Maintaining and operating two different types of trucks can become expensive for the consumer goods vendor. For example, two trucks will require two separate fuel tanks that must be filled.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system for transporting, loading, and unloading various types of goods that employs only a single motor vehicle. A further need in the art exists for a method and system which combines the positive attributes of motor vehicles with enclosed cargo areas with motor vehicles having flat bed open cargo areas.